Furniture frame construction

ABSTRACT

A furniture frame structure pairs of identical frame portions arranged, when assembled, to form opposing structural elements, one pair being so constructed that, during assembly, it may be moved into an opening in the second pair and being latched thereto.

United States Patent 1191 [111 3,726,561

Bolyos 1 Apr. 3, 1973 54 U ITURE FRAME C NSTRUC ON 521,395 6/1894 Van Norman ..297 442 3,021,187 2/1962 Mitchell ..3l2 263 [76] Invent g; a 3,490,809 l/l970 Lange," ..297 440 an my we 3,504,942 4 1970 Wong ..297/440 [22] Filed: July 27, 1971 3,563,599 2 1971 Herrrnann ..297 440 211 Appl. No.2 166,491

Primary ExaminerPaul R. Gilliam [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Atwmey Kurt Kelman Aug. 21, 1970 Sweden ..l1432/70 [52] US. Cl ..297/440 51 Int. Cl ..A47c 7/00 [571 ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search ..297/440, 445, 422;

A furniture frame structure pairs of identical frame 312/257 194495 portions arranged, when assembled, to form opposing structural elements, one pair being so constructed [56] References Cited that, during assembly, it may be moved into an open- UNITED STATES PATENTS ing in the second pair and being latched thereto.

275,823 4/1883 Hale ..297/444 I 7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATEHTED APR 1 01973 SHEET 1 BF 3 SHEET 2 BF 3 JQ f FURNITURE FRAME CONSTRUCTION The present invention relates to a furniture frame construction for furniture of the type which is delivered in separate parts to the customer and assembled by him at the place of usage, i.e., furniture sometimes known as knock down" or self-assemble furniture, and relates more particularly to furniture for seating and reclining purposes, such as chairs, beds, bed-sofas etc., and tables and the like.

The continuous effort to improve efficiency within the field of furniture manufacture has resulted in a line of development strongly directed towards reliable and functional furniture which is correctly designed from a biotechnical aspect and which, at the same time, can be turned out in large quantities in order to keep costs low.

During latter years another requirement has been placed on mass produced furniture; namely that it should be possible to dismantle and reassemble individual pieces of such furniture, so that the furniture can be packed and stored in the smallest space possible. In this way, the furniture can be stored, manufactured and distributed far more cheaply than would otherwise be possible. This means that such furniture must be so simple to assemble that the task can be readily performed by the customer himself with the aid of simple instructions and preferably without the use of tools.

As a result of these requirements, a large variety .of furniture constructions have been proposed, all of which have the common feature of being delivered in separate parts in relatively small packages and assembled at the place of usage. Attempts have also been made to provide with furniture of this type the necessary auxilliary parts for assembling and joining together the various furniture sections, for example such parts as screws, brackets and other appropriate fittings. With regard to furniture composed of a large number of different parts, for example furniture for sitting purposes, it has not always been possible to provide all the appropriate fittings, screws etc. Similarly, when assembling such furniture it is often necessary to use some form of tool, such as a screw driver, adjustable wrench, pliers or the like.

The object of the present invention is to avoid th aforementioned disadvantages, particularly with regard to furniture for sitting purposes, tables and the like, and to provide a furniture structure in which the number of parts is reduced to a minimum and with which all the parts are identical in pairs and so designed that no attachment fittings or securing devices such as screws, brackets and the like are required, and which completely obviates the use of any form of tool when putting the pieces of fumiture together.

This object is achieved by means of the present invention, which is mainly characterized in that the fumiture structure comprises frame parts which are pairwise identical and arranged to form, when assembled in position, pairs of mutually opposing construction ele-. ments, and that a frame pair is designed to be inserted, during assembly, into the frame openings of a second pair of frame parts moved into a latching position in relation thereto.

The invention will now be described with reference to an embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates in perspective a frame structure according to the invention designed for sitting furniture.

FIGS. 2-4 illustrate in perspective different parts of the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates the frame structure part shown in FIG. 4, but from the other direction.

FIG. 6 is a section taken through the line [-1 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a section taken through the line II-II in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a section'taken through the line III-III in FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 1, and shows how the different parts are put together.

In FIG. 1, which illustrates an assembled frame structure generally indicated by the reference numeral 1, the reference numeral 2 and 2 indicate frame-like side pieces comprising foot rails 4, 4' and upper rails 5, 5' formed as arm supports. The foot rails 4, 4' and upper rails 5, 5' have a T-shaped cross section with the flange turned inwardly and the upper rails 5, 5' are provided with an upwardly curved portion 6, 6 which forms an elbow support surface. The foot rails 4, 4' are arranged at the ends thereof integral with respective upper rails 5, 5', by means of front vertical posts 7, 7' and rear vertical posts, 8, 8 in a manner whereby each side piece forms a closed frame structure as illustrated in FIG. 2. As will be seen from FIG. 2, and from the sections illustrated in FIG. 6, 7, the front and rear vertical posts 7, 8 are provided on both sides on the inner edge surface thereof with longitudinally extending parallel ridges 9-12. As will be best seen from FIG. 9, the inner ridges 10 and 11 are slightly widened at the top and at the bottom as indicated at 13, for a reason to be hereinafter explained. Located on the inside of the vertical posts 7, 8 are two recesses 14 having a depth which corresponds to the total outer measurement between the ridges 9, l0 and 11, 12 resp. The purpose of these recesses will be explained below.

Disposed in the vertical posts 7, 7' at a position slightly above the halfway line is a semi-oval through passing opening 15 having a straight edge 16 facing inwardly and slightly downwardly, while disposed in the upper end of the vertical posts 8, 8' is a through passing semi-oval opening 17 having a straight edge 18 which is turned downwardly and inwardly. The purpose of the openings l5, 17 will be explained below.

It should be mentioned here that although the side piecesZ, 2' have been described as separate parts they are identical with respect to size and construction and are also completely symmetrical with respect to a common center plane for the foot rail 4, the upper rail 5 and the two vertical posts 7, 8.

The connection and adjoining means between the side pieces 2, 2' are in the form of two beams 20, 20' and two cross members 21, 21, which are illustrated in perspective in FIGS. 3, 4 and FIG. 5 respectively. The beams 20 and 20 are mutually identical and have a U- shaped cross section, as illustrated in FIG. 8. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the beams 20, 21 are slightly arcuate in shape and have at their two ends a narrower portion 19 which merges with a wider center portion via a shoulder 22, FIG. 3. The narrower portion 19 has an outer configuration which conforms with the semi-oval openings 15, 17 in the side pieces 2, 2, FIG. 9.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross member 21 in perspective and seen from one side, and FIG. illustrates the same cross member in perspective as seen from the opposite side. The cross member 21, comprises a horizontal U- shaped portion 23 which is arranged integrally with two vertical, U-sha'ped portions 24 and 25. As will be seen from FIGS; 4, 5, the flanges of the U-shaped horizontal portion 23 extend in a opposite direction to the two vertical, U-shaped portions 24, 25 and that the flanges of the horizontal portion 23 are extended to form partitions 26 between the flanges of the vertical portions 24, 25.

Arranged at the top and bottom of the web of the vertical portions 24, 25 is a recess 27 having a depth 51 which corresponds to the distance s1 shown in FIG. 9. Thedistance s2 between the bottom surfaces of the recesses 27 corresponds to the distance s2 shown in FIG. 9.

, As a result of the recess 27 the flanges of the vertical portions 24, 25 form bifurcate portions, on the inside of which is arranged low projections 28. The height of the horizontal portion 23 is adjusted with respect to the bottom surfaces of the recesses 27 in a manner whereby the partitions 26, which as earlier mentioned are to be considered as extensions of the flanges of the horizontal portion 23, coincide with the height position of the recesses 14 in the side pieces 2, 2, FIG. 9, when the cross members 20, 21 are assembled in position in the manner to be hereinafter described. Similarly to the side pieces 2, 2 and the beams 20, the cross members 21 and 21' are also identical and the horizontal portion 23 is placed symmetrically and centrally between the ends of the vertical portions 24 and 25.

FIG. 1 illustrates a seat 30 and a back support member 31 as an integral part, the seat and the back support member being shown in ghost lines for the sake of illustration, and are arranged between the beams 20, 20'. Also in ghost lines is illustrated a stiffening member 32 in the seat 30, the member 32 being, for example, a slab of suitably rigid but slightly resilient material. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the slab 32 is inserted in the U-shaped beam 24), which forms a secure attachment therefor- On the opposite side, the slab 32 is held in position in the seat by a seam, indicated in FIG. 1 by dotted lines. The seat 30 and the back support 31 can be made of a fabric or a plastics material and are suitably made of double lengths so that the beams 20, 21 can be arranged in between the lengths.

As mentioned in the aforegoing, the side pieces 2, 2' the beams 20, 20' and the cross members 21, 21' are pair-wise identical with each other, and these parts of the furniture frame structure are assembled together with the seat 30 and the back support 31 into a chair frame structure, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, in the following manner. The beams 20, 20 are passed in between the open ends of the lengths of material forming the seat 30 and the back support 31, the slab 32 located in the seat being inserted into the U-shaped beam 20' as shown in FIG. 8. The narrower end portions 19 of the beams 20, 20' are then passed into the semi-oval openings 15, 17 in the side pieces 2, 2' in the position illustrated in FIGS. 1, 9, i.e., so that the free edges of the U-profile bear against the straight edges 16, 18 of the semi-oval openings 15, 17. In this way, the edge surfaces 16, 18 form support surfaces in the directions in which the loads caused by the user of the seat act. The narrow end portions 19 of the beams 20, 20' are moved into the semi-oval openings 15, 17 until the shoulders 22 on the beams 20, 20' abut the inner side surfaces of the side pieces 2, 2. The distance s3 between the shoulders 22 will therefore determine the distance between the inner surfaces on the side pieces 2, 2.

The cross members 21, 21 are then assembled in sequence in the manner disclosed in FIG. 9. FIG. 9 illustrates the front cross member 21 with full lines and partially in section, and the rear cross member 21 with dash lines. When assembling a cross member, for example 21', it is moved in an inclined position in between the foot rails 4, 4' and the upper rails 5, 5' of the side pieces 2, 2' in a manner whereby the U-shaped vertical portions 24, 25 face towards the vertical posts 7, 7'. The width of the cross member 21' is adjusted so that the distance s4 shown in FIG. 4 coincides exactly with the distance obtained between the inwardly turned ridges 9, 10 on the vertical portions 7, 7 of the side pieces 2, 2', when the distance between the two side pieces is the same as that determined by the distance $3 on the beams 20, 20', FIG. 3. This means that the recesses 27 climb over the upwardly turned spring means on the foot rail 4, 4' and the downwardly turned spring-like means on the upper rails 5, 5'. The cross member 21 can thus be moved from the inclined position shown in FIG. 9 in the direction of the arrow A to a vertical position. The cross member 21' is moved in a parallel pattern from this vertical position adjacent the vertical posts 7, 7' to the left, as shown in FIG. 9. This causes the partitions 26 on the cross member 21' to move into the recesses 14 on the vertical posts 7, 7' at the same time as the projection 28 on the inside of the ends of the U-shaped vertical portions 24, 25 snaps into the interspace between the ridges 9 and 10 when the cross member 21 is located in its final position, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 7. The same method of assembly is then applied when mounting the cross member 21 in position. The seat 30 and the back support 31 fall, under their own weight, down into the lower position shown in FIG. 9 and the piece of fumiture is then ready for use. When dismantling the piece of furniture, the procedure is the reverse to that described above. The cross members 21, 21' are released from engagement with the projection 28, FIG. 7, and moved to an inclined position and removed from the side pieces 2, 2'; the side pieces are then released from the beams 20, 20' and the piece of furniture is then dismantled and ready for packaging or storage.

It will be evident from the aforegoing that the cross members 21, 21' are locked on both sides at the upper and lower ends of the vertical portion 24, 25 by the projections 28. The widened portion 13, FIG. 9, on the ridges 10, 11 provides an additional abutment surface for the end portions of the vertical portions 24, 25, which surface is equally. as wide as said portions. The cross members 21, 21 are guided vertically by the partitions 26 which project into the recesses 14, FIG. 9, and by abutment with the edge surfaces of the recesses 27 and the edge surfaces of corresponding inwardly facing spring-like means on the foot rails 4, 4' and the upper rails 5, 5' respectively.

The invention provides a functional and stable furniture frame structure constructed of but a few, pair-wise identical components, which can be assembled together by simple movements of the hand without requiring the use of tools or devices in the form of screws, coupling attachments or the like for joining said parts together. Owing to their simple design, the different parts of the frame structure can be mass produced as ejection moulded elements, for example from a suitable plaStics material, at very low cost.

The furniture frame structure of the present invention can also be used as a base for tables, loading platforms, reclining furniture etc. and the structure described can be modified in many different ways within the scope of the accompanying frames.

I claim:

1. A piece of furniture which comprises in combination,

A. integral frame-like side pieces each comprising a foot rail and an upper arm support rail, said foot rail joined to said upper arm support rail by a front vertical post and a rear vertical post, said front and rear posts having intermediate recesses;

B. integral H-shaped members, each having partitions disposed in vertical leg portions thereof, said partitions positioned for mating contact with said intermediate recesses in the front and rear posts, one of said H-shaped members positioned forwardly and a second of said H-shaped members positioned rearwardly relative the said side pieces, said H-shaped members being removably disposed between oppositely positioned integral frame-like side pieces, top areas of vertical leg members of said H-shaped members having means engaging the upper arm supports, and bottom areas of the vertical leg members having means engaging the foot rails;

C. cross members each having an arcuate configuration and opposite end portions disposedfor engaging said side pieces, one of said cross members being removably disposed near the horizontal portion of the forwardly positioned H-shaped member, and the second of said cross members being removably disposed near the top area of the rearwardly positioned H-shaped member; and

D. a resilient seat and back rest portion disposed between said cross members.

2. The piece of furniture of claim 1 wherein the said partitions and recesses lock together by snap-latch resilient means.

3. The piece of furniture of claim 1 wherein two longitudinally extending parallel ridges are disposed on said front and rear vertical posts.

4. The piece of furniture of claim 1 wherein semioval openings are provided in said front and rear vertical posts providing means for receiving and supporting opposite end portions of said cross members.

5. The piece of furniture of claim 3 wherein said vertical leg portions of the I-l-shaped members have a U- shaped cross sectional configuration for receiving said ridges.

6. The piece of furniture of claim 1 wherein the foot rail and upper arm support rail have a T-shaped cross sectional configuration, and wherein the horizontal portion of the H-shaped member has a U-shaped cross sectional configuration. 7. The piece of fumlture of cla1m 5 wherein the vertical U-shaped portions of the H-shaped members are provided at the top and bottom thereof with recesses, the arrangement being such that the end portions of the vertical portions can climb over spring means on the foot rail and the upper rails respectively when the cross pieces are mounted in position, and projections arranged substantially at the ends of the vertical portions which snap into the grooves formed between the ridges on the front and the rear vertical posts, thereby providing a locking efiect between the cross members and the side pieces in the assembled position. 

1. A piece of furniture which comprises in combination, A. integral frame-like side pieces each comprising a foot rail and an upper arm support rail, said foot rail joined to said upper arm support rail by a front vertical post and a rear vertical post, said front and rear posts having intermediate recesses; B. integral H-shaped members, each having partitions disposed in vertical leg portions thereof, said partitions positioned for mating contact with said intermediate recesses in the front and rear posts, one of said H-shaped members positioned forwardly and a second of said H-shaped members positioned rearwardly relative the said side pieces, said H-shaped members being removably disposed between oppositely positioned integral frame-like side pieces, top areas of vertical leg members of said H-shaped members having means engaging the upper arm supports, and bottom areas of the vertical leg members having means engaging the foot rails; C. cross members each having an arcuate configuration and opposite end portions disposed for engaging said side pieces, one of said cross members being removably disposed near the horizontal portion of the forwardly positioned H-shaped member, and the second of said cross members being removably disposed near the top area of the rearwardly positioned H-shaped member; and D. a resilient seat and back rest portion disposed between said cross members.
 2. The piece of furniture of claim 1 wherein the said partitions and recesses lock together by snap-latch resilient means.
 3. The piece of furniture of claim 1 wherein two longitudinally extending parallel ridges are disposed on said front and rear vertical posts.
 4. The piece of furniture of claim 1 wherein semi-oval openings are provided in said front and rear vertical posts providing means for receiving and supporting opposite end portions of said cross members.
 5. The piece of furniture of claim 3 wherein said vertical leg portions of the H-shaped members have a U-shaped cross sectional configuration for receiving said ridges.
 6. The piece of furniture of claim 1 wherein the foot rail and upper arm support rail have a T-shaped cross sectional configuration, and wherein the horizontal portion of the H-shaped member has a U-shaped cross sectional configuration.
 7. The piece of furniture of claim 5 wherein the vertical U-shaped portions of the H-shaped members are provided at the top and bottom thereof with recesses, the arrangement being such that the end portions of the vertical portions can climb over spring means on the foot rail and the upper rails respectively when the cross pieces are mounted in position, and projections arranged substantially at the ends of the vertical portions which snap into the grooves formed between the ridges on the front and the rear vertical posts, thereby providing a locking effect between the cross members and the side pieces in the assembled position. 